: How to 301 redirect old domain to new domain on same host with SSL and avoid Privacy Error Here's the environment: Apache, mod_rewrite.c exists WordPress Two domains that point to the same webhost,

@Holmes151

This is easy to do, and the only piece of the puzzle missing is an SSL cert for olddomain.com. Forget the idea about IP addresses restricting you, this misunderstanding is the root cause of your issue.

'Domain Validated' (or DV) certificates are very inexpensive and available from multiple vendors for well under USD. I have used cheapsslsecurity.com and gogetssl.com, but there are many others and the product is identical so buy one anywhere you like. Grab a DV certificate for olddomain.com to use for the redirect.

The reason browsers return the error is because the SSL protocol is a separate layer which encapsulates the HTTP protocol, and the SSL session takes place before the HTTP session can begin. That prevents your HTTP redirect from happening - we aren't at that layer yet.

Simply put, you need to present a valid certificate for the SSL handshake, then your redirect happens. The redirect code goes in your Apache config (either a VirtualHost block or .htaccess) along with the certificate paths like this:

<VirtualHost 127.0.0.1:443>

# Declare this rule only for the old domain
ServerName OLDDOMAIN.com

# Certificates presented so we can move on to the next step
SSLEngine on
SSLCertificateFile /PATH/TO/CERT.crt
SSLCertificateChainFile /PATH/TO/CHAIN-FILE.pem
SSLCertificateKeyFile /PATH/TO/KEY.key

# Use a redirect, it is far more efficient than using rewrite
Redirect 301 / www.NEWDOMAIN.com/
</VirtualHost>


Good luck and be aware that some hosts exploit this idea that SSL/TLS is somehow complicated or expensive and charge extortionate prices for it, or place unnecessary requirements like making you pay extra for a dedicated IP address. If your host told you this simply abandon them and move your sites elsewhere.

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@Samaraweera270

While it isn't impossible to host multiple secure sites on a single IP address, thanks to SNI and SAN, the redirect you're trying to do is impossible without one of the aforementioned solutions. In order to receive a redirect from www.olddomain.com, the browser must have already requested that URL using SSL/TLS, and is expecting an encrypted response from the web server with a valid certificate for that domain - even if that response is only a 301.

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